‘Lip service’: Trillanes hits Duterte request to lift bank secrecy

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday downplayed as “pure lip service” President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to Congress to pass a general tax amnesty bill that would lift bank secrecy for fraud cases.

“That’s pure lip service! Ni ayaw nga pumirma ng waiver nung nabisto sya na may mahigit 2Bn (billion) pesos sa bangko,” the staunch Duterte critic said in a statement.

“Sige lang, in time, once you’re out of power, mailalabas na lahat yan at makikita na ng taongbayan kung gaano ka kakurakot,” the senator added.

READ: Trillanes signs waiver, dares Duterte to open bank accounts

READ: Palace: Ill-gotten wealth accusation of Trillanes vs Duterte ‘an old tune’

Duterte earlier sent a letter to the House of Representatives saying a general amnesty without the lifting of bank secrecy for fraud could “create an environment ripe for future tax evasion” with the government incurring “long term substantial revenue loss.”

READ: Duterte asks Congress to pass general tax amnesty bill lifting bank secrecy

“Given these, I ask Congress to pass another general tax amnesty bill that includes the lifting of bank secrecy for fraud cases, the inclusion of automatic exchange of information, and safeguards to ensure that asset or net worth declarations are truthful,” Duterte wrote in a letter dated Feb. 14.

“With these provisions, the general tax amnesty will meet both its tax administration and revenue purposes,” he added.

This came after the Chief Executive vetoed several provisions of the recently-signed Tax Amnesty Act that seeks to provide amnesty for delinquent taxpayers. /cbb

READ: President partially vetoes tax amnesty bill